Movies. Best of Chicago.

`Christmas Carol' Still A Splendid Yuletide Film

Best movie made by a filmmaker who is a Chicago native: The definition is crucial. What exactly is a Chicago "native?" Somebody born here? Then Walt Disney qualifies, even though he was raised in Kansas City. A high-school suburbanite like John Hughes? Someone who spent their childhood, formative years or young adulthood in Chicago? A Second City or Steppenwolf alumnus? Dan Aykroyd ("The Blues Brothers") or Gary Sinise ("Of Mice and Men")? Andrew Davis ("The Fugitive"), William Friedkin ("The French Connection,") or Michael Mann ("Heat")?

How about this? A long time ago, the family of a young future filmmaker moved to Chicago from Wisconsin. They settled on the North Shore. And even though he was often away at boarding school or on world tours with his fun-loving dad, this is the city he primarily called home -- until he graduated from high school and took off for Europe and Ireland, Broadway and Hollywood, fame and (sometimes) fortune. Still in his 20s, this young and cocky ex-Chicagoan made a wonderful movie, part of which is set in a Chicago opera house and newspaper office and based on well-known Chicago society gossip. The boy's name was Orson Welles. The movie is "Citizen Kane."

Michael Wilmington

Best holiday film (other than "It's a Wonderful Life"): "Groundhog Day." Oh, what a cheat! Groundhog Day isn't even a legitimate holiday! Well, sorry, but 1993's "Groundhog Day" not only features the requisite holiday-movie magic and blanket of snow, but it also overflows with holiday spirit, as Bill Murray's snide weathercaster learns to be a better person by reliving the same day over and over. Like "It's a Wonderful Life," it's as dark as it is funny, and as the highlight of director-writer Harold Ramis' career thus far, "Groundhog Day" also is a finalist in the category of Best movie made by a filmmaker who is a Chicago native.

Best movie Santa: Gene Hackman in "The French Connection" (1971). One moment, "Popeye" Santa is leading Brooklyn neighborhood kids in a rendition of "Jingle Bells"; the next he's chasing down a drug dealer and busting him for carrying three bags of dope and picking his feet in Poughkeepsie. A Santa for our troubled times.

Best movie theater decoration: The clouds that sweep across the black-sky ceiling at the Music Box Theatre. Of the theater's organ, Spanish balconies and vintage ornamentation, these puff-shaped beams of light may be the detail you are tickled by the longest.

Best movie theater that doesn't exist anymore: Edens 2 in Northbrook. Some of the newer theaters feature curved screens and digital sound systems that can blast the wax out of your ears, but none can recreate the experience of sitting in a large, packed Edens 2 auditorium to see "Star Wars" or "Raiders of the Lost Ark" on an enormous curved screen. The two Edens theaters (the Edens 1 had a smaller screen and even bigger auditorium) were torn down a couple of years ago to make way for a lovely strip mall.

Best place to watch a movie that you'd otherwise wait to see on video: Brew 'n' View at the Vic. The large screen requires neck-craning among downstairs viewers, but if you missed, say, a Brady Bunch or Jackie Chan movie in the first-run houses, there's no better way to catch up to it than paying $3, buying the optional beer and grabbing some giggles in an old movie palace-turned-nightclub. Don't miss the campy, old-time promos that screen between films.

Best concessions bargain: Aside from sneaking in snacks from outside (you wouldn't do this anyway because it's not allowed), you can get a relatively good deal in theaters that offer free drink refills. Here's a super-secret cost-saving tip: Buy the smallest size.

Mark Caro

Best holiday film (other than "It's a Wonderful Life"): "The Gift Of The Magi," which was part of the 1952 omnibus film "O'Henry's Full House." In it, Jeanne Crain and Farley Granger play a young married couple deeply in love but so poor it appears they will be unable to buy each other presents for Christmas. His only valuable possession is the watch his father left him; her single significant possession is her long beautiful hair. She cuts off her hair and sells it to buy him a watch fob, only to discover on Christmas Day that he sold his beloved watch to purchase combs for her hair. Was the true spirit of giving ever more dramatically portrayed?

Theater with the best sight lines: The problem with most theaters, as we all know, is that the screen is too small, the sound too tinny, the rake too slight or the seats lined up incorrectly. But at the wide open Film Center of the Art Institute, you will encounter none of these common cinematic difficulties. Aside from having the most eclectic programing schedule in town, it is also one of the best venues for pure viewing enjoyment. There's not a bad seat in the house.